Tennessee football: At least one analyst appreciates Cedric Tillman’s value

All the talk surrounding Tennessee football entering 2022 is about Hendon Hooker, Josh Heupel’s offense and what Byron Young can do is the main playmaker on defense. However, not enough people are paying attention to one of the biggest stories of the offseason.

Cedric Tillman was the Vols’ first 1,000-yard wide receiver in 2021 since Justin Hunter in 2012. He caught 64 passes for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. At 6’3″ 215 pounds, he’s the one returning starter at receiver, making for huge expectations.

Finally, he’s starting to get respect with those expectations. College Football Analyst Phil Steele named Tillman a third team All-American for 2022. Tillman was one of eight Tennessee football players named All-SEC. Hooker and Young were part of that list.

Only Tillman was First Team. Young and Hooker were Second Team. Paxton Brooks, Darnell Wright and Jabari Small earned Third Team. Jeremy Banks and Jerome Carvin earned Fourth Team. However, Tillman is the first Vol to get this type of national love. It’s long overdue.

Tillman’s decision to return for his senior season makes him the first 1,000-yard receiver to come back since Lucas Taylor from 2007 to 2008. Unlike Taylor, though, he’s the first 1,000-yard receiver to return with the same quarterback  sinceKelley Washington and Casey Clausen from 2001 to 2002.

Washington missed most of 2002 due to injury, so the last 1,000-yard receiver to return with the same quarterback and play the full year was Joey Kent with Peyton Manning in 1995 and 1996. Kent is the most recent Vol to have back to back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, but all signs point to Tillman doing it too.

Taking that into account, it’s high time he got his respect. Tillman was a three-star across most services in Tennessee football’s 2018 recruiting class, and often times, he was as low as a two-star. That combined with playing for Jeremy Pruitt seems to have affected the way he’s perceived.

However, very few people racked up the stats he did last year, and given the departures, there is all the reason in the world to believe he’ll see even more touches this year. Combine that with playing in Heupel’s system, and you have to think he’ll rack up lots of yards.

When it comes to predicting Tennessee football, Steele never seems to let anybody forget that he was the one person to pick against them in 2005 when they stumbled to 5-6. That’s been used to give the outlet credibility on predicting what will happen with the Vols for a decade plus.

If that prediction magic still exists, then Tillman should indeed be a star this year. What he showed last year, though, suggests that there shouldn’t just be one outlet giving him All-American love. Expectations for him should be through the roof this year, and he could be targeting some records.